Douluo Continent: Tonight, a Fairy Tale Descends

“We are siding with Eva not to become her vassals, but to find our place in the order she has established.”

The difference is that if we remain in the Comprehensive Alliance, we will likely be crushed by both sides simultaneously. But if we align ourselves with Eva at the right time, we can at least preserve the foundation of our sect.

The Fifth Elder remained silent.

His gaze fell on the map on the table, which had been repeatedly marked, and he remained silent for a long time, watching the boundary lines that were steadily shrinking inward.

"Do you think she won't devour us?" The Fifth Elder finally spoke, his voice a few decibels lower than before.

The Second Elder did not answer immediately. He picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip of the tea, which had already gone cold.

“Given her style, she would integrate us into her system in a gentler way rather than by directly annexing us. What she needs is not a piece of land to be forcibly swallowed, but a force willing to cooperate with her.”

The Second Elder put down his teacup and continued in a calm voice: "Moreover, if we take the initiative to approach her, we can at least gain some ground at the negotiating table. If we wait until her army advances to the edge of our controlled territory and we are forced into a corner before approaching her, we will be completely passive."

Silence fell over the council chamber once more. The elders' gazes shifted back and forth across the map on the table, as if each were weighing the pros and cons.

The sound of the night wind blowing through the courtyard came from outside the window, causing the candlelight to flicker slightly.

……

It was a morning without any warning.

As dawn slowly spread across the eastern horizon, the outline of the southernmost border town in the Alliance-controlled area was revealed from the darkness.

The sentry at the town's entrance rubbed his eyes, which were a little sore from his night watch, and was about to change shifts when he suddenly saw a long, thin black shadow appear on the distant horizon.

He initially thought it was morning mist, but the outline of the dark figure was becoming clearer at an abnormal speed.

First came the tip of the flagpole, then the edge of the flag, and then a whole line of figures moving forward.

The sentry paused for a moment, then suddenly turned and ran toward the town, his footsteps echoing rapidly on the cobblestone street.

But after running a dozen or so steps, he heard a noise coming from another direction.

It wasn't a ground tremor, but a deep, distant thunderous sound. He stopped, listened intently for a moment, and then his expression changed completely.

Meanwhile, the integrated alliance's command system is operating in a way it has never experienced before.

Urgent battle reports were like a piece of paper being lit at the same time, burning towards the center from both the north and south. Reports from the advance troops, requests for withdrawal from the forward outposts, and urgent troop deployment suggestions from the front-line generals filled the commander's desk within half a day.

The first news to reach the council chamber came from the southern front.

Before dawn, the army of the Martial Soul Theocracy crossed the tacitly agreed buffer zone and advanced unimpeded through several border towns. The garrison troops in those places were quickly divided and surrounded before they were even fully awake, and they were unable to put up any decent resistance.

The candlelight was still on in the council chamber, and several generals, who had just been woken from their sleep, sat solemnly around the long table.

Someone was reading the battle report that had just been translated in a low voice, but every word clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

But when the second battle report arrived, everyone paused for a moment.

It was an urgent report from the North. The Fairy Tale Empire's army had crossed the northern border at the same time, and was advancing faster than the Martial Soul Theocracy on the southern front.

Several important border towns, originally defended by the Haotian Sect and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, fell to the Fairy Tale Empire's army with almost no resistance.

A moment of silence fell over the council chamber. Someone asked in a low voice, "What's going on with the Haotian Sect?"

No one answered.

But the answer to that question was already vaguely guessed by everyone present.

Over the next few hours, the situation deteriorated at an almost out-of-control pace.

The area controlled by the Haotian Sect and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect seemed to have been turned into a passage that was opened up overnight. The army of the Fairy Tale Empire advanced southward along that passage without any hindrance. They encountered almost no noteworthy obstacles along the way.

Those defensive fortifications that had been repeatedly reinforced were either evacuated before orders were received, or the garrison had already voluntarily withdrawn from their positions when the vanguard of the Fairy Tale Empire arrived.

Chapter 571 Dragon Realm

The forces of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Clan and the Star Luo Empire were assigned to the region where they would deal with the Spirit Cult.

This arrangement was completed a few days ago, proposed by Ning Fengzhi and tacitly approved by Tang Xiao, and quietly implemented under the cover of the rotation system within the Comprehensive Alliance.

No one objected at the time, because it seemed to be just a routine adjustment of the defense line, neither too abrupt nor suspicious.

But looking back now, the whole story is as clear as a map laid out in the sunlight.

The alliance's command system has shown significant sluggishness amid the chaos of being caught in a pincer movement between the north and south.

One order after another was issued from the council chamber, attempting to readjust the defensive deployment, but those orders encountered numerous obstacles in the process of being transmitted.

Communication channels were cut off, the mobilization of supplies lagged behind the actual battle situation, and the conflicting orders received by the frontline generals prevented them from making clear decisions.

When night fell again, the territory of the Comprehensive Alliance had shrunk to one-third of its original size.

The areas simultaneously occupied by the Fairy Tale Empire and the Martial Soul Theocracy are like a piece of paper torn open from both sides, and are closing in on each other at an irreversible speed.

Along the route of the advancing army of the Fairy Tale Empire, a new flag slowly rose over a city in the twilight.

The flag was deep purple, with a silver crescent moon and a golden arc embroidered in the center, fluttering in the wind atop the city walls.

At the city gate, several soldiers dressed in the standard light armor of the Fairy Tale Empire were counting supplies.

Their movements were swift and orderly, as if they had done it many times before. Not far away, several prisoners of the Comprehensive Alliance were being guarded together; some had their heads down, some had blank expressions, and some were still talking quietly.

In a large house in the city that had been temporarily requisitioned, a female officer in a dark purple robe stood by the window, looking at the flag fluttering in the wind atop the city wall.

Her face was somewhat blurred in the twilight, and her expression was unclear, but she stood firmly, as if this flag had been flying in her heart for a long time.

The same thing is happening in the areas controlled by the Martial Soul Theocracy.

The towns that have just been incorporated into the territory of the Martial Soul Kingdom are being integrated into the new management system at an extremely rapid pace, new provincial boundaries are being drawn, and new garrisons and administrative officials are arriving one after another.

The two core leaders of the Comprehensive Alliance, Ning Fengzhi and Tang Xiao, were sitting in a quiet study.

The twilight outside the window was slowly closing in, gradually dimming the light and shadows inside the room.

A pre-written letter lay on the table, the handwriting neat, the ink dry, and the edges slightly curled.

Ning Fengzhi finished reading the last line and then gently placed the letter on the table.

He didn't speak immediately, his gaze fixed on the sky outside the window, which was being dyed a dark gold by the twilight, as if confirming a judgment that he had weighed countless times.

Tang Xiao sat opposite him, his dark gray outfit looking particularly simple in the twilight.

His posture was more relaxed than usual, but beneath that relaxation lay a complex emotion that was hard to define.

"This battle won't last much longer," Ning Fengzhi finally spoke, his voice steady.

"The command system of the integrated alliance has experienced a significant breakdown. Our personnel have retreated to their designated positions, and there is enough time remaining for other forces that need to withdraw to complete their relocation."

Tang Xiao didn't respond. He knew Ning Fengzhi was telling the truth, and he also knew this was one of the last things he could do under the current circumstances.

He picked up the cup of tea in front of him, but didn't drink it. He just held it in his hand for a while, and then gently put it back on the table.

Meanwhile, in a small town on the edge of the Comprehensive Alliance's controlled area, a team of Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect disciples was rapidly retreating.

They had just withdrawn from the front lines; some members of the team were wounded, and others looked exhausted, but the overall order was still maintained.

A muffled rumble came from the rear of the column, as if some structure had collapsed in the distance, but no one turned around to look.

Yu Yuanzhen walked in the middle of the group, his rugged face revealing little expression, but something was slowly settling in his eyes.

He neither urged the group to quicken their pace nor slowed down to wait for those who had fallen behind to catch up; he simply walked on in silence.

And the existence of the Comprehensive Alliance faded from the map of Douluo Continent as dusk fell that day.

As the last flag belonging to the Comprehensive Alliance was slowly lowered into the twilight, the land that had been repeatedly contested had been completely transformed into a new landscape.

The deep purple flag to the north and the golden angel flag to the south fluttered in the wind along their respective borders, like two giant beasts that had just finished dividing their prey and were now panting in their respective territories.

Those who had once lived under the banner of the Comprehensive Alliance were now under different jurisdictions within just a few days.

Some were taken over by the army of the Martial Soul Theocracy, some came under the jurisdiction of the Fairy Tale Empire, and a small number chose to follow the sect forces that had already withdrawn and retreat to the far west.

In the places that have been taken over, new orders are being established at their own paces.

Some cities returned to normal operation within a few days, with streets bustling again and shops reopening.

In some places, there was a brief period of chaos. During the transition, some people took the opportunity to leave, and others took advantage of the chaos to seize things that did not belong to them. However, the chaos was gradually quelled within a few days.

In the Fairy Tale Empire's controlled territory in the northern part of the continent, in a medium-sized city, a young traveler wearing a gray cloak stood on a street corner, looking at a deep purple flag unfurling on the city wall not far ahead.

The traveler's face was mostly obscured by the hood of his cloak, revealing only his well-defined jawline and a small patch of dark blue hair.

He stood there casually, like any passing traveler, but his gaze lingered on the flag for a moment before he looked away and continued walking along the street.

Tang San has been traveling on the mainland for quite some time now.

He walked through border areas ravaged by war, and also through remote villages yet to be touched by conflict.

He had seen the orderly ranks of the Martial Soul Kingdom's army as they marched, and he had also seen the patrol routes of the Fairy Tale Empire's scout squads along the border.

Tang San noticed that the situation on the mainland had completely changed.

When he first left Haotian City, the continent was divided into two parts: the Spirit Hall and the Anti-Spirit Alliance, each occupying half of the continent.

But now, every city he passes through and every conversation he hears conveys the same message: the Anti-Soul Alliance no longer exists.

He heard about the fall of the Star Luo Empire, the brief existence and rapid disintegration of the Comprehensive Alliance, and the establishment of the Fairy Tale Empire and its rapid territorial expansion.

Tang San also overheard several discussions about the woman known as Eva in the tavern. Some said she was the smartest woman on the continent, some said she was an ambitious woman more terrifying than the Spirit Hall, and others said she would confront the Spirit Hall sooner or later.

But Tang San didn't care about any of this.

He felt no sense of belonging to the Haotian Sect, nor any closeness to Tang Hao. For the man who gave birth to him but never truly became his father, his only remaining emotion was a kind of indifferent detachment.

After leaving Haotian City, Tang San never sent any messages to Tang Hao, nor did he inquire about the Haotian Sect's situation amidst the changes on the continent.

He would occasionally pass by cities that were changing their flags, and then continue on his way.

The only person he cared about most was Cinderella.

Tang San has been searching for a long time.

Since leaving Haotian City, he has been traveling westward, traversing mountains, plains, rivers, and deserts. Every trace he left along the way matched certain information from his memory.

But it was always just a little bit off, either a step too early or a step too late, as if something was deliberately keeping a distance from him that was just too far to cross.

Tang San stood in the shade of the old elm tree at the street corner, remained silent for a while, suppressed his surging thoughts, then pulled up the brim of his cloak and continued walking along the street.

His figure quickly blended into the crowd in the twilight, like one of countless ordinary travelers, silently passing through the city that had just been incorporated into the new power, continuing to move in the direction he had chosen.

Meanwhile, inside the Papal Palace in Wuhun City, Bibi Dong was sitting on that large throne.

Before her lay a newly drawn map of the distribution of power, clearly marked with different colored inks the areas controlled by the Fairy Tale Empire and the Martial Soul Church.